Sean Higgins’ New Jersey Case: Charges and Pretrial Rulings

The Sean Higgins New Jersey case is a state criminal prosecution in Salem County charging Higgins, 43, of Woodstown, with ten counts, including two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, in the August 29, 2024 drunk driving crash that killed NHL forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau while they were cycling. Higgins has pleaded not guilty, has been held without bail since shortly after the crash, and, as of mid-2026, is heading toward trial after a judge denied his motions to suppress his statements to police and to dismiss the indictment.¹

The Charges

A Salem County grand jury returned a ten-count indictment on December 11, 2024:²

Two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter
Two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular homicide
Two counts of death by auto
Two counts of second-degree leaving the scene of a fatal accident
Two counts of fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence

Convictions on all counts carry up to 70 years in prison.³ Prosecutors offered Higgins a 35-year plea deal, which he rejected.⁴

What the State Says Happened

On the evening of August 29, 2024, Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were riding bicycles northbound on County Route 551 in Oldmans Township, a semi-rural two-lane road with a 50 mph limit and virtually no shoulders. At around 8:19 p.m., Higgins, driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee, tried to pass two vehicles ahead of him by crossing into the southbound lane. When an SUV in front of him moved toward the center of the road to safely clear the cyclists, Higgins tried to pass that SUV as well, re-entered the northbound lane, and struck both brothers from behind. Both men were killed.⁵

A state trooper at the scene reported that Higgins’ breath smelled of alcohol. Higgins failed a field sobriety test and told police he had drunk “five or six beers” that day, starting around noon.⁶ Police reported a blood-alcohol content of 0.087, above New Jersey’s 0.08 legal limit.⁷

In a recorded statement later played in court, Higgins acknowledged striking the brothers and said he attempted the pass because he thought the vehicle ahead of him was “moving too slowly.”⁵ During his formal interview at the state police barracks, he admitted to drinking five to six beers after work plus two more while driving, and to trying to hide beer cans after the collision. He told investigators: “I get impatient, I had beer in my system, now my life is ruined … That’s literally what it was all about. My impatience and reckless driving.”⁸

Pretrial Detention

Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio ordered Higgins held without bail after his detention hearing, citing concerns about his driving history and potential for self-harm. Prosecutors described the incident as one of “impatience, anger and recklessness.” Defense counsel pointed to Higgins’ lack of a prior criminal record, his rank of Major in the New Jersey Army National Guard, and his family ties, but the judge was not persuaded.⁹ Higgins has remained at the Salem County Correctional Facility throughout the proceedings.⁸

Records showed prior driving incidents: a 2001 speeding ticket in North Carolina dismissed on a clean-record basis, a 2005 DWI charge in North Carolina voluntarily dismissed after the arresting officer failed to appear, and two New Jersey crashes in 2016 and 2021, along with stops for unsafe driving and other violations.² Prosecutors have alleged a broader pattern of “road rage and aggressive driving.”³

Key Pretrial Rulings

Higgins’ attorneys, Richard Klineburger III of Klineburger & Nussey and Matthew V. Portella, have pursued several aggressive pretrial motions. Each has been denied.

Motion to Suppress Higgins’ Statements

The defense argued that Higgins’ post-crash statements should be thrown out because troopers used a “question-first, warn-later” approach without properly reading him his Miranda rights. On November 10, 2025, Judge Silvanio denied the motion after hearing testimony from four state troopers and reviewing body-camera footage. He found that the roadside interaction was not a custodial interrogation, that Higgins appeared “clear and lucid” and spoke freely, and that Higgins later validly waived his Miranda rights at the barracks before his formal interview.¹⁰ The statements, including Higgins telling a trooper “I hit them, I hit them” and later admitting to impatience and reckless driving, will be admissible at trial.⁸

The defense sought an interlocutory appeal. On January 15, 2026, Appellate Division Judge Morris G. Smith denied the request, finding the defense had not shown “sufficient justification to overcome the strong policies disfavoring piecemeal review of litigation.”⁷

Contributory Negligence Argument

The defense asserted that the Gaudreau brothers bore some responsibility for their deaths, claiming they had blood-alcohol levels of 0.129 or higher and were cycling without lights after dark. On April 15, 2025, Judge Silvanio rejected the argument, ruling there was “no credence in the argument there was contributory negligence on the part of the cyclists.” Prosecutors said witnesses saw the brothers riding safely on the edge of the road, single file, and with traffic.¹¹ The judge ruled the victims’ blood-alcohol levels were moot under New Jersey criminal law and upheld all charges.¹²

BAC Challenge and Motion to Dismiss the Indictment

The centerpiece of the defense strategy has been an attack on the state’s blood-alcohol evidence. Against the state’s 0.087 reading, the defense retained toxicologist Gary Lage, who tested whole blood rather than plasma and reported a 0.075 result, below the legal limit. The defense argued that reliance on plasma testing produced an inflated result and that the grand jury was misled.¹³

On May 11, 2026, Judge Silvanio denied the motion to dismiss. He ruled that prosecutors did not intentionally mislead the grand jury and called the disagreement a “battle of the experts” that belongs before a trial jury. Requiring re-presentation of the case every time the defense obtained a new expert opinion, he said, would be “impractical,” and the grand jury’s role is only to determine probable cause.¹⁴ Assistant Prosecutor Michael Mestern told the court that the BAC level was “but one of many ways” the state planned to establish reckless conduct and extreme indifference to human life, pointing also to witness statements, Higgins’ failure to stop, and the evidence-tampering allegations.¹

The defense has said it may file additional motions to suppress evidence before trial.¹⁴

Where the Case Stands

As of mid-2026, Higgins remains jailed at the Salem County Correctional Facility. All defense efforts to dismiss or reduce the charges have failed, and he faces the full ten-count indictment.¹ A pretrial conference was scheduled for June 16, 2026, to resolve remaining matters before trial. No trial date has been publicly announced.¹⁵

The Civil Side, Separately

The criminal prosecution is distinct from the civil litigation, which has already been resolved. In January 2025, the widows of both brothers filed wrongful death lawsuits against Higgins in state Superior Court, alleging he was “negligent, careless and reckless.” The suits settled for $500,000, the limit of Higgins’ USAA auto insurance policy, split evenly between the two estates. Of Johnny Gaudreau’s $250,000 share, $243,949 was placed in annuities for his three children, with the balance covering legal fees. Of Matthew Gaudreau’s share, $143,949 went to his widow Madeline, $100,000 was placed in an annuity for their son Tripp, and $6,051 covered fees and expenses. The civil filings referenced unnamed individuals or entities whose actions may have contributed to the crash and included invasion-of-privacy claims, leaving the door open to future litigation against other parties.¹⁶

1
The Athletic (New York Times). Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Charges in Gaudreau Case
2
NBC Philadelphia. Drunken Driver Indicted by Grand Jury in Gaudreau Brothers Deaths
3
WHYY. Gaudreau Crash Case Lawyers Claim Suspect Not Drunk Driving
4
6abc. Judge Denies Motions in Gaudreau Brothers Case
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NBC Philadelphia. Sean Higgins Court Setback in Gaudreau Deadly Crash
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6abc. Gaudreau Brothers Sister Katie Speaks After Fatal Crash
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ABC7 NY. Judge Denies Appeal Effort in Gaudreau Brothers Crash Case
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NJ Courts. Motion and Answer – Higgins Filed
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CBS News Philadelphia. Sean Higgins Gaudreau Crash Detention Hearing
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NJ.com. Man Charged in Gaudreau Death Fighting to Have Statements Tossed
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6abc. Defense Tries to Argue Brothers Were Cycling Impaired Before Crash
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CBC. Gaudreau Impaired Driving Trial
13
New York Post. How Botched Blood Alcohol Test Could Be a Big Problem for Prosecutors
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Columbus Dispatch. Judge Refuses to Dismiss Charges in Gaudreau Fatal Crash
15
NBC Philadelphia. Judge Denies Motion to Re-Present Evidence to Grand Jury in Gaudreau Case
16
NJ.com. Gaudreau Families Will Split $500K Settlement